California GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman says she would “skinny down the bureaucracy” if she wins the election, saving 12,000 jobs a year for three years by not hiring people to replace state employees who have left.

The proposal was one of several suggestions Whitman proposed for tackling the state’s budget crisis. A report Wednesday morning predicted a $20 billion budget deficit in the coming fiscal year.

Whitman, one of the leading candidates for the Republican nomination for governor in 2010, stopped by Tolosa Winery in San Luis Obispo on Wednesday evening to speak with supporters.

The former president of eBay, Whitman vowed to bring her business savvy to Sacramento. One of her chief themes as she answered questions from local media was “focus.”